Mind Ball
Guests are usually very competitive at mind ball. This competitiveness happens independent of whether they know what is really being measured in the game. I think that the graphs are often overlooked in mind ball so when I facilitate this exhibit, I like to use the graphs. Incorporating the graphs allows Sparks to maximize the guests’ engagement. After guests know what the graphs mean and how to interpret them, I find that they try to challenge themselves by then being unrelaxed. The more unrelaxed you are, the head set will pick up this change and it will show in the graphs. The graphs will then show a higher frequency and irregular wave pattern. This kind of behavior will lose the game. The graphs are also a good way of engaging onlookers. While you are playing mind ball, you are actually unable to see the graphs in real time. However, onlookers have the benefit of watching the graphs in real time and this allows them to analyze and interpret data, construct explanations, and engage in argument from evidence.
A way in which I try to optimize the practices already being used by guests at mind ball is to ask them more testable questions. I tell guests that it is easier to be relaxed when you stop talking, laughing, and moving. I then ask what would happen if you justthinkabout talking, laughing, and moving. I started asking guests this question because it also gets them to think about their thoughts in a state of relaxation. Usually guests try to get to a state of relaxation by thinking about nothing however, monks reach a high level of relaxation when they are meditating, and they aren’t just thinking about nothing.
I find that expanding practices is a bit more difficult in mind ball. One way I have found to facilitate this pathway is to have evenly matched players challenge each other. This usually results in the game lasting several minutes.
Sound Machine
I find that because the sound machine is so “eye and ear catching” as Destiny puts it, gets usually look at it and move on. The sound that the machine makes becomes background noise for many guests. One thing I have tried to facilitate this exhibit is to walk up to a guest who is already looking at the machine and ask them if they can identify the types of sounds they hear. Little do some guests know, that there are a variety of sound producing elements within this machine. There are bells, a xylophone, a cymbal and wooden blocks. I start off my asking simple questions like can you identify these sounds and point them all out?
After this question, they are usually more engaged with the route that the balls are taking throughout the machine. I then show them that they are able to walk through the two sections and see different perspectives of the exhibit. This is cool for guests who have never seen this exhibit before because it creates the feeling of you being inside the ball machine. This walk-through section of the exhibit is an important element of the sound machine because it makes the viewers interaction with the exhibit much more important. Lastly, I find that manipulating the track is a good way of expanding the guests’ practices. The sound machine has two entry points that the guest can manipulate to change the track- the hand wheel or knob. This element of the exhibit allows the sound machine to be a fully immersive experience for the guest. When a guest has reached this point of engagement, I find that they lose interest and walk away to explore another exhibit. Interestingly, I find that those guests that have reached that high engagement level are still intrigued with the exhibit and come back to it at a later time.
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